Let’s face it.
You’re cut from a different cloth. You see the world through a strange set of
eyes. You look for ways to murder people and get away with it and talk about it
with friends in a crowded restaurant. You routinely express both sides of a
conversation… with yourself… OUT LOUD!

Behind all that
bizarre behavior is the catalyst of what makes you who you are and compels you
to do what you do. It’s the heart of a writer. And it lives inside you.

The heart of a
writer is unique in many ways. Here are a few:

You see the entire world differently. Things that others let pass by unnoticed
catch your eye. You view them more deeply that those who do see them.

Your writer’s heart causes you to feel
emotions on a much deeper level that the average person. Yes, even those weepy, sappy,
cry-at-the-drop-of-a-hat women in old movies.

You’re compelled to create stories. No matter what’s going, your mind always
drifts to the voices in your head and the story in your heart. If you simply
can’t write, you feel guilty about it.

You’re never good enough. At least that’s what your heart tells you
no matter how hard you work polishing that story before it goes to the editor
for publication. You always wonder what you could have added or subtracted,
rewritten or reworked that would have.

It ALL matters to you. Yes, what the critics say matters. How
many reviews you get on Amazon matters as much as what each and every one of
them says. You’ll forget all 823 glowing reviews and agonize over the one who
gave you three stars. It will keep you up at night and rob you of peace in
daylight.

I confess I had a
difficult time at first accepting the fact that I have a writer’s heart.
Sometimes I feel I wear my feelings on my sleeve and I’m fickle, particularly
when I get negative feedback. I’m sure you’ll agree that when I put it like
that, it’s pretty unappealing.

But there is no
perfect heart. Not the heart of a champion. Not the heart of a soldier. Each
has a downside. But we don’t look at their downside, do we? We salute them and
pay them the honor they are due.

You have the heart
of a writer. You are to be honored. Respected. Oh, and that starts with you.
So, accept that you have the heart of a writer—with all your wacky quirks—and
respect it. Honor yourself in your craft. You deserve it. It’s who you are. You
have the heart of a writer!

Do you believe you
have the heart of a writer? Do you honor that in yourself? Share it here.

Reba J. Hoffman is the founder and
president of Magellan Life Coaching. She is passionate about helping others
live their dreams and uses her PhD in clinical counseling to do just that. She
is the author of Facing Fear and Finding
Freedomand Dare
to Dream. In 2013, Reba rode a bicycle all
around America alone on the Road to Freedom Tour to help women who survived
violent assault. She volunteers as the Member Care Coach at My Book Therapy.
You can connect with her at www.RebaJHoffman.com.

I love this. I had lunch with my dearest friends the other day and just before we all left to go to our respective homes I asked them for help in deciding who the murderer should be. Couldn't help myself.